WORLD Land Rover Day is being celebrated by the marque today with the announcement of a final phase of testing for the eagerly awaited new Defender.
As the prototype fleet reached the 1.2million kilometre landmark on Tuesday following development and trials around the globe, Land Rover unveiled plans for a last round of rugged field testing in Kenya.
A Defender prototype wearing a unique camouflage will experience life at the Borana Conservancy as part of Land Rover’s 15-year partnership with the Tusk Trust wildlife conservation charity.
The prototype will tow heavy loads, wade through rivers and carry supplies across unforgiving terrain in a series of real-world trials at the 14,000-hectare reserve.
By the time the new Defender makes its public debut later this year, it will have passed more than 45,000 individual tests in some of the most extreme environments on Earth.
Land Rover engineers have taken the test fleet to the 50C heat of the desert, the sub 40C cold of the Arctic, as well as up to 10,000ft altitude of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado to ensure the new Defender will take everyday life in its stride for even its most adventurous customers.
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And bosses at the iconic British 4x4 maker were keen to point out that the birth of the new Defender has been a truly global affair – in keeping with World Land Rover Day.
Its on-road dynamics were honed at the famous Nurburgring in Germany, while all-terrain testing has taken place on the muddy roads of Eastnor in Herefordshire, the rocky trails of Moab, in Utah, and the sand dunes of Dubai.
Designed and developed at Land Rover’s facility at Gaydon, Warwickshire, the new Defender will be made at the recently opened state-of-the-art factory in Nitra, Slovakia.
World Land Rover Day is celebrated on April 30 every year to mark the global premiere of the original Land Rover at the Amsterdam Motor Show on this day in 1948.
Jaguar Land Rover product engineering boss Nick Rogers said: “In addition to the extensive simulation and rig testing, we’ve driven new Defender 1.2million kilometres across all terrains and in extreme climates to ensure that it is the toughest and most capable Land Rover ever made.
“The incredible opportunity to put it to the test in the field, supporting operations at the Borana Conservancy in Kenya, with Tusk, will allow our engineers to verify that we are meeting this target as we enter the final phase of our development programme.”
